Quals
by VisualIDentificationZeta
Summary: SUMMARY: what if Cresswell and Mac had happened upon Harm when they went to have their requalifications at Quantico and find out something neither of them had never known about him? No ship of any kind....COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Quals

AUTHOR: Vid Z.

TIMELINE: Season 10

SPOILERS: Black Ops, High Ground, Scimitar, The Prisoner and so many more it's not even funny.

DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc of the TV show JAG are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fic. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: we all know that Harm was a character with an amazing drive, determination and sheer force of will and never let an opportunity to learn something new and useful get away from him. Over 10 years we saw him work with Spec Forces many times, easily clicking in as if he was one of them, on mission or just when training with them.The list of such episodes is long, the list of that training mentioned during the show even longer. The training he'd gotten actually makes up the majority of what candidates for SEALs have to go through the get the trident and most of the time actually the missions fully trained and qualified SEALs execute. It was also repeatedly shown what an excellent marksman he is, contrary to that unbased myth of Mac being the best shot ever, a myth that wasn't substantiated on the show.

Just one example out of many for Harm's skill is the ep "Tiger tiger" with the scene where he shoots that hostagetaker in the head from 20 meters, while walking and without taking much time to aim after revealing who he was. That takes amazing skill. Though Navy, pilot and lawyer he may be, Harm has time and again proven that he is a much better soldier, either regular grunt, marksman or a Spec Ops operative, than any other regulars on the show, especially Mac, even though she so religiously kept repeating that she's a Marine. As one of my friend's grandfather (retired Marine) called Mac: pencil-pushing-Marine-wanna-be, which was the nicest thing he'd said about her "skills" (or lack thereof) as a Marine. But, those poor rabid Macaroons will still claim that their Mac is perfect and that she can kick Harm's ass or wipe the floor with him. Yeah, right, and my second vehicle is an aircraft carrier...

SUMMARY: what if Cresswell and Mac had happened upon Harm when they went to have their re-qualifications at Quantico and find out something neither of them had never known about him? No ship of any kind.

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Harm was taking the duffel out of his boot when the voice made him freeze in his tracks.

"Commander!"

'Oh crap.' thought Harm and turned around.

There he saw the General and Mac, both in their BDU's, looking at him confused.

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you at HQ?"

"Don't worry, sir, I'm not AWOL. I'm on an official business here."

"Okay." drawled the General, but still looked skeptical while Mac just looked confused. "Very well, CDR, carry on."

"Sir." Harm nodded, since he was out of uniform he didn't have to stand at attention nor salute, and turned away, leaving.

The other two just stared after him and the General shook his head. "I don't think I wanna know."

Mac just shrugged and they continued on their way.

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"Okay, that's it, General, here are your weapons." said Gunnery Sergeant Niven to the man as he handed over the two M16A2 along with 4 clips, each with 20 bullets.

"Hey, Commander!" he suddenly exclaimed and the two Marines turned towards the newcomer and were stunned at the sight.

"Hey, Gunny! How's life treatin' ya?" smiled Harm pleasantly at the other man.

Harm's manner wasn't what had caught his coworkers' attention, however.

It wasn't only the fact that he was there, but it was also the fact that he was wearing black BDU's, a boony hat on his head, black duffel over his shoulder and had a thigh holster on his right thigh, with a definitely not regular issue side-arm in it. His BDU's were unmarked, as in no name and no military branch stitched on the chest, no insignias and no flag on his shoulders, and no silver Oak Leaves anywhere on it.

Mac saw a female Corporal, Gunny's assistant, practically drooling at the sight of Harm. His tall, muscular frame with broad shoulders and strong chest and arms definitely looked heart-accelerating. Or stopping. But coupled with the black BDU's that made look dangerous she was almost melting in her shoes herself.

She sighed, knowing that she had no-one to blame but herself for the fact that they weren't in a relationship, nor anywhere close to entering it cause _she'd _said 'never' and that _she_ was still pushing _him_ away.

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After taking him for granted for the last too many years, she'd completely forgotten that there were other women who definitely liked the way he looked and who appreciated him as a person and who, most importantly, didn't take him for granted. It was just a matter of time before he'd found the woman he'd want to spend the rest of his life with and then Mac would have to look from a distance as he'd fall in love, get married and have kids with that woman, who'd deserve this wonderful man. But that is life for ya!

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"Can't complain, Commander. So, what'll it be? The usual?" replied the other man.

Mac and Gordon frowned puzzled. The two men obviously knew each other well, but from where? What did a Navy JAG and a Marine Gunny stationed at Quantico at the shooting range, have in common?

"You've got it, Gunny." smiled Harm again.

It occured to Mac that today was the first time she saw him smile in years and it was a glorious sight to behold. Too bad she wasn't the one to bring it out of him any longer.

"Sure thing, Commander. Michelle's been missing you since you dropped her off here last week, so I know she'll be glad to see you again." grinned the big man, waiting as Harm filled out and signed a formular, to have a weapon given to him.

"So, how are Jeannie and the kids, Mark?" asked Harm as he filled the form out.

The man grinned again, revealing strong, healthy teeth. "They're great, CDR, she sends her love and ordered me to make sure you come for lunch this Saturday, Jessica and Matthew have been missing you."

Harm smiled again. "Be glad to, thanks. And I've been missing the two rug rats myself."

"Just nothing Navy related this time, Matt's gonna be real man." jested the Gunny, knowing that it was pointless to ask Harm not to bring any presents for the kids, spoiling them, as Harm would still do it. He loved those kids nearly as they were his own.

Harm mock frowned. "Nothing Navy related? But you said he's gonna be a real man..."

The other man's smile widened, he clearly enjoyed the banter. "Aye, sir, I did." only the fact that they were both on duty prevented him from calling Harm by his first name.

The fake expression of dawning realization appeared on Harm's face. "But that would mean, if he's not gonna be Navy, thus a real man... he would become a land-lubber wuss!"

Mark nodded sagely.

"No!" cried Harm jokingly. "That's a fate worse than death. The poor kid deserves better than to become a Jarhead. He should become a real man, the best of the best, he should become..."

"Don't tell me, sir, he should become a sea-fruit!"

Harm mock glared at him and grumbled. "The word I was going for was Navy."

"Oh." the Gunny faked a chastened and apologetic look.

The two men laughed uproariously again together, used to their bantering after knowing each other for 6 years, while the two others just looked on, confused, slightly irritated by Harm's dissing the Corps. Not that it looked as if Harm cared if anyone objected to his making joke at the Corps.

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REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

hey, **qball**, long time no read, man! Nice reading you again. Yep, I agree, Harm has shown over the 10 years many skills, talents and training that was never explained. Some was explained, like the scene in which he stormed a Kill House with a SEAL team and functioned as an equal part of the team. Or the ep where he did the HALO jump and stormed an airfield... But most of it, like how he'd become such an expert shooter was never explained.

Thing is, I'm not the first writer to theorise that Harm was a sniper during his life and to delve into how he could be so profficient in hand-to-hand, melee, close range and longe range combat and other soldier skills.

One of the fics I can think of is Valerie Jones's (one of the few Harm/Mac writers that really treat Harm with respect and who don't ignore or dismiss every part of his life, pesonality, skills, training,... in order to make Mac or others look good, or even better) amazing "Aftermath" (it's a Harm/Mac fic, yes, I did once read those) here:

http// www. fanfiction. net/s/822368/1/Aftermath (without the spaces)

Sad thing is, many writers just dismiss or ignore Harm's experience in Vietnam, his training by Stryker and every other training he'd received.

I'm just dragging up the story of his life and piecing together the pieces of the puzzle where he got so profficient with weapons and where he learned to shoot so well.

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In a personal message I received it was said that I am cheapening Harm by pairing him up by not staying with one pairing, but writing 3 pairings for Harm. That could be dismissed as a Harm/Mac shipper's rant, but because it has (some) merit I'm addressing it here, cause I'm sure others have had the same idea at some point.

If you'll notice, every pairing I write takes place during a different season of the show, as have Harm's relationships with his canon girlfriends. If I am cheapening Harm, then the writers did the same by pairing him with Annie, Jordan, Renee, Mac, Alicia,... At least I'm pairing him up with women that are good for him and that accept him as a whole and don't like just a part of him (JORDAN: "I fell in love with the lawyer in you."), unlike the show's writers who not only paired him up with wrong women, but also hurt and damaged him as a result of those pairings. I'm pairing him with different women during different times in his life in different realities and am not having him get it on with three women at the same time nor with these three women in the same reality, one after the other.

Also, I'm putting him and the woman in positions in which I think they could get together, HAD Harm moved on from Mac, which sadly didn't happen on the show. I'm saying sadly simply because I am a Harm fan and my biggest wish is for him to be happy, and his relationship with Mac or lack of it and Mac had hurt and damaged Harm more than anything else during the years, quite possibly as much as Diane's death (who is also mostly dismissed and ignored by writers as inconsequential or unimportant).

So, I hope this was an explanation enough for why I believe that the accusation was unfounded.

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I hope you'll like this part and don't forget to read the PS at the end, which will explain a few things.

Don't forget to review.

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In fact, it was Harm that had introduced Mark to Jeannie, a wonderful yet struggling and lonely young Petty Officer, who had a very bad, bad luck with men and just needed someone to believe in her and love her to help her achieve her full potential.

The truth of his theory came when Jeannie started getting only the best fitreps soon after getting together with Mark. Mark was good for Jeannie and Jeannie was good for Mark, sanding out those rough edges and making him a happier person. Harm was also their twins' godfather. These were all aspects of his life that no-one knew about, mainly because no-one bothered to get to know everything there was about him or had their own lives and their own problems, which Harm fully understood.

Few people accepted the whole package of Harmon Rabb Jr., most just wanted what suited them best, from which they had the most profit and didn't want to deal with the rest of him. That mainly meant the lawyer side of him. They all liked that part, but hated or resented or just ignored the pilot side, for one reason or another, especially when he had to return to flying in order to be ready to move on with his life. Annie, Jordan, Mac, Renee, Bud, Harriet, Chegwidden, his own mother,... The only people he could remember that accepted him for who he was, who didn't resent neither of his sides, didn't resent the fact that there were forces in his life and demons so strong that he had to deal with them first before being at his friends' disposal again, that loved him for who he really was; were just a few people: Frank Burnett, Diane Schonke, Meg Austin and the Niven family.

It was Frank that had convinced Trish to let him go to the Academy even after years of putting up with Harm's bullshit and rejections, it was Frank who had supported him through it all, constantly asking if he needed anything, or how it was going, while his own mother had shut herself off from Harm for the whole time while he was at the Academy and until he had the ramp strike. And after that Frank was still there, silently, offering everything he could give, even enormous amounts of money so Harm could find his biological father, never resenting him for it. Only in the last few years had Harm realized just how much of a father, how much of a good father, Frank was to him and that had encouraged Harm to make the first steps to mending their relationship, to repent for the abuse he'd dealt Frank in the last decades, especially in the first few years of their acquaintance. Harm knew that he could never make it up to Frank for how he'd behaved himself, but he'd try and he hoped that one day he would earn the right to call Frank 'Father'.

Diane... Harm had met Diane in the Academy, she'd been just a year behind Harm, Sturgis and Jack. There had been strong chemistry between them from the start, but because of the frat regs that forbid romantic relationships among Middies they'd decided to do nothing about it for the time. Then came Harm's graduation and his flight training, during which he'd kept in contact with Diane. As the military is wont to do, it had torn apart two people in love once again, sending them to the opposite corners of the Earth. Internet was practically non-existent at the time, as was e-mail, so they had to rely on the normal mail system. When Harm's ramp strike happened it shook their worlds and made them realize just how quickly one can stop being. She'd taken as much leave as she could while he'd been in hospital and then at his grandmother's farm. Her love had helped him heal, she was the one to come up with the idea that he should restore the bi-plane and she was the one who'd chipped in the idea of him studying Law when they were throwing around ideas on what he should do now. She'd loved him, loved the pilot part of him even though it scared her to death because it meant she could lose him, she'd encouraged it because she knew it was in his blood, it was who he was, she'd never even thought of punishing him for it; just as she'd encouraged and loved him as a lawyer. There, on that farm, at the homestead of his family, they'd finally consummated their love. When Diane's leave was over they'd made a promise to themselves to continue their relationship as soon as they were able to. That time should've been in early June 1996, but it hadn't happened because of a mentally ill man. Diane had encouraged and supported him through the entire Law School and the Navy Justice School and through his budding career as a lawyer. She'd rejoiced in his successes and comforted him in his failures, as he had done for her. They were so hopeful that their dreams were about to be fulfilled when it'd happened. Diane's request had finally been granted and she'd been transferred to the Pentagon. They were finally at the point where they could have it all. Harm had had the engagement ring for years by then, it had been passed down from one generation of Rabb to the next. Then the next day he got word that she'd been murdered and his world fell apart around him. The ring got sent to Frank and locked in a safe, per Harm's request, never to be used again, lest he ever get married and have a son to give it to. It had been meant for Diane and no other women would've ever gotten it. It just wouldn't feel right to give the ring that had been meant for Diane ever since the Academy to some other woman, a woman whom he'd love, but could never love as much as he loved Diane. Then the fate was cruel once again and had given him a partner that looked exactly like Diane, but was so different. One of the biggest differences being the fact that Mac didn't approve nor like the pilot side of Harm, while Diane had accepted all of him, no matter how much it'd terrified her. He knew he'd never forget Diane and had made arrangements to be buried next to her when he died, because he knew he'd never get married to someone else.

Meg was the only close friend of his, besides Diane, that had accepted and liked both parts of him: pilot and lawyer. He still remembered fondly how she enjoyed their Tomcat rides, how she challenged him to grow as a lawyer, how she helped him grow as a person and how she encouraged his love for flying. Losing her, losing their friendship and partnership, was something Harm would always regret and hate TPTB for.

The Nivens had come at just the right time for Harm. He'd known Jeannie for quite a few years by then, she'd been part of the JAG staff, the part that other officers really didn't care about nor even notice after a while, for quite a few years by then. Harm had seen great promise in the young woman, yet her personal problems, stemming mainly from a very low self-esteem, lack of confidence and other insecurities, had influenced her on-job performance, leaving her struggling to do the job she was assigned to and have no chances for promotion if she didn't get better. Harm wanted to help her, but was not in a position to do so. During the case when a Marine guard shot an arrested terrorist Harm had met then-Staff Sergeant Mark Niven quite accidentally. He immediately recognized a good, decent, honest man, one that did not play with women, but was on the look-out for the one, for love, and wanted to settle down with her. So, in a unique show of matchmaking, Harm had plotted so Niven came to HQ where he'd stumbled upon Jeannie whom Harm had sent to get something from near the double door. Harm could swear he saw the burly Marine freeze in his tracks when his eyes landed on the young woman and saw the PO lose her breath once she'd straightened and caught sight of the young man. Harm had mentally patted himself on his back and barely hold of guffaws when he saw the marinely Marine acting like a love-sick virgin around the girl he liked. Then Harm mentally patted Mark on his back when the other man gathered the courage to ask Jeannie on a date, which she'd accepted. From then on it went smoothly. They were magnificently fitted for each other and as a result of the love, support and simple belief in her that Mark was giving her Jeannie got her self-esteem and self-confidence back and started shining in her work. Amazing just what a simple support can do, how it can help people turn around their lives and grow, no matter who it comes from, whether from a lover or a friend or just one's boss. Well, they had realized just what Harm had done, his self-satisfied grin couldn't have been wiped off his face fast enough for Mark not to have noticed. The grin and Jeannie's explanation just what she'd been doing right there that second at Harm's strange request for her to fetch something outside her post and Harm's lame explanation to Mark for why he should come to HQ; had been the clue. They didn't hold it against him, but were thankful to him and because of that became close friends with him and made him Mark's best man at their wedding and their children's godfather. After a year and a half of dating the two got married and the twins entered this world another year and a half later. There was nothing left of the shy, hesitant, insecure young PO, the woman of the same name (later of different name) shined with happiness, contentment, confidence in her skills and in herself and was a joy to behold. And the burly Marine was now a man with his rough edges sanded off, was happy with his lot in life, settled down and completely devoted to his wife and children. When the judgement day'd come and Harm would be asked to justify his life, he would point to the Niven family.

It was the love this family had for each other that had fought off the aftermath of Paraguay. When he saw the love Mark and Jeannie had for each other and for their children, who returned it, he knew that Mac was wrong, that he didn't destroy everything he touched. There were still people who's lives were better because he'd touched them, that were glad that they knew Harmon Rabb Jr., that appreciated his presence in their lives, that cared for him and as long as there were people like Mark and Jeannie Niven, Harm would still have hope that his life wasn't for nothing, that he hadn't just wasted air and other resources, that he'd made a difference. And when he died he would think back to everyone who's life he'd help make better and would release his final breath, knowing that he'd lived, not merely existed.

Wasn't it William Wallace that said: "Every man dies, not every man really lives."?

Uh, scratch that, that was Mel Gibson. But it certainly fits well...

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Gunny turned towards the two observers and sobered, becoming the consumate professional again. "General, LtCol, the rifle ranges 2 and 3 are free. Good luck."

The two had an uncomfortable feeling that they'd just been politely dismissed.

Then the Gunny took the forms from Harm and went to personally retrieve Harm's weapons, leaving the female Cpl to continue surreptiously gazing at Harm.

Gordon and Mac turned towards Harm who was, as they by now had guessed, also qualifying for something. What, that they did not know. "Go on, sir, Mac, I'll be here a while."

The two looked at each other and were bonded by the Corps' rivalry with the Navy, temporarily removing their differences. "Yes, CDR, it'll probably be a while before you finally hit the target." grinned Cresswell, convinced of his Corps' breeding and superiority as a marksman.

Mac couldn't keep herself quiet neither and chimed in. "Or are you planning on calling in naval artilery, Harm, and it'll take a while before the shells finally come in?"

The two Marines burst out laughing while Harm just smiled secretively. "Could be." was all he said.

Cpl Janet O'Hara, who was filing the forms, quickly glanced at them, trying to stop her image of the CDR from being destroyed by her two comrades, when she caught Harm's small smile. She got the distinct feeling that the butt of the joke wasn't Harm, but that the joke was on the two Marines and she smiled at Harm in a conspiratorial way. Harm looked surprised, but returned the smile, smiling sheepishly when he noticed the pretty young woman blush.

Mac and Gordon had just left when Gunny came back with two weapon cases. He put one case on the counter, while he stored the other one nearby.

"Here's your baby, CDR." he said as he unpacked the first case and pulled out an M40, the one that was personally assigned to Harm and no other could use it. He handed the weapon over to Harm, along with one clip.

"Sniper range 5 is free. The rest of your gang is there already and have already started their quals. Good luck."

"Thanks, Gunny, I'll see you later." said Harm as he picked up the rifle and the clips. He shouldered the weapon, grabbed the duffel and headed out.

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TBC...

PS: yeah, I know it's unbelievable that Harm would be a sniper, but a sniper had had him in his claws for quite a while and Crockett could be pretty persuasive. Besides... Harm, Crockett and Chegwidden went out for a drink together at the end of the ep and people agree to many things while drunk... Besides, I can't imagine Harm not taking the opportunity of broading his horizons, learning new things and broadening his skills, skills that could later on save his life.

As for why Harm is using the sniper rifle that USMC use and not the one Navy uses (M25 - which is an updated M21), it will be explained in part 4.


	3. Chapter 3

WOW, I never in my dreams believed that this fic would get such a response and that people would like it. I must've done something right, now I just have to figure out what. Am already thinking of writing a short fic about one of Harm's experiences, also no ship, maybe about Vietnam or something like that.

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**Jeff**: long time no read, man, I'm glad you're okay. Unfortunately no Meg. When I started writing it I decided to stick to canon as much as possible. Unfortunately we haven't seen her since season 1 (which sucks to heavens) so she won't be here. Besides, I can't imagine any guy she'd be with stupid enough to not make sure they work out and then quickly drag her before the altar... As for Mac... I'm gonna be exceedingly nice to her in the rest of the fic.

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**dor1249**: thanks, but unfortunately there won't be any HJ in this fic. Okay, there will be a very short, professional-only interaction at HQ in the next chappy, but no ship.

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**jaggirl-hammer:** thanks and I hope this is fast enough. Will update again tomorrow.

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**Les**: it was explored, but to such a miniscule point (just brief references in episodes and short clips) that it wasn't really noticed by most fans. I had so much fun filling in the blanks and connecting the dots, because there was so much about Harm's life and especially his training and experiences left unsaid on the show, left to interpretation. Heck, with the holes in his history and in the show's plot, who knows, he maybe even was a sniper and SEAL right up to the show's finale...

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**Grace:** thanks, I hope this part won't disappoint.

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**julinka**: no, problem, I know what you mean about avoiding pairings you don't like. I do the same with Mac/Chegwidden, Mac/Webb, Harm/Renee, Harm/Mac (with one exception... Syrae's fics) fics :) I like every kind of shipper and have nothing against HarmMac fans or even against Mac fans as long as they are not hostile towards me and towards what I write. As for the language... I too have an online friend. It's name is Presis Amebis and it helps me a lot. English is my third language, after my mother language and German, so I understand fully what you mean.

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**syrose:** you were right, they don't use M24, thanks for pointing out the blooper. The Navy use M25, which is an upgraded and updated version of the M21, which is a very old rifle by now, since it's just a slight modification (a scope being put on it) of the ancient M14 of the 50's. Interesting to note: the M40 (USMC) and M24 (Army) are actually the same rifles only the Marine version has a shorter receiver, meaning smaller calibre, otherwise they're identical. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up, I've fixed the previous chapter accordingly.

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Most of my knowledge on snipers comes from documentaries (not movies, they are crap and totally inaccurate) and net-based resources, that are mostly about Army snipers. There is a lot about initial training and initiation, but basically nothing abour re-qualifications that snipers must go through. Unfortunately there is no detailed info about Navy snipers or how their re-quals look like, so I'm using Army's final sniper training exams for the basis of this fic.

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Mac and Gordon were just about to start their rifle quals when they heard shouting strong enough to be heard over the shots of other people on the range. "Hey, guys, it's Hammer!" "Commander, how are you!" were the only two recognizable sentences before the ruckus turned into shouting that signified that the Hammer was being warmly welcomed by his friends.

The two Marines looked at each other, confused. It was clear who they were welcoming, since Harm was the only Commander they'd seen all day, but it didn't make sense. The General had the feeling that there was a lot he didn't know about the younger, larger man. He also had to acknowledge that it was only his fault as he hadn't even tried to get to know Harm, as he'd tried with the other members of his staff. True, most of Harm's record was blacked out, but that was no excuse for knowing nothing about his own subordinate or even talking to him, trying to get to know him as any new good CO would do.

Mac plainly didn't know what to think and also had to acknowledge that she didn't know what was going on because she'd been pushing Harm away for a long time now, even after Harm had asked her to let him be part of her life again during their talk at the Dining Out. It was no wonder that they'd completely lost touch and didn't know about the other's lives anymore, this going both ways.

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Harm greeted the guys with a big smile.

The big John "Barrett" Thompson, called that because it had been his goal to qualify for and be assigned the canon of a sniper rifle, the .50 caliber Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle; from the start of the sniper training.

Then there was Ben "The Jackal" Smith, called that because he was almost obssessed with Edward Fox's movie "The Day Of The Jackal" (the real The Jackal not that crappy re-make with Bruce Willis).

Bill "Hawkeye" Scarlett, a short, though incredibly tough guy, called that because he had a keen instinct for ambushes and a martial arts expert.

Mike "Shorty" Burgh, called that because he was even bigger than Harm, who was the second biggest man of the group.

Jeffrey "Professor" Riley, who'd given up his philosophy studies and joined the Navy to become a SEAL.

And last, but not least, Michael "Psycho" Browning, who's only goal in life seemed to be collecting as many kills as possible, but always got to the battlezone too late, still being at 0 kills, to his great anger and disappointment.

It was so good to be back with them, back with professionals who, for a change, truly appreciated him for who and what he was and for his skills.

Their all-black gear made them stand out from the Marines in woodland camo milling around and gave them a dangerous look.

They were the best of the best that the Navy had to offer.

Every single one of the men there was a qualified SEAL sniper, as was Harm.

Normally snipers have spotters with them, who judge the distance to the target, the direction and strength of the wind, the drop of the bullet,... and protect the sniper, but on these quals the snipers had to do everything by themselves.

Each was assigned to his own spotter and they operated alone, so these snipers hadn't seen each other in a while and were glad to see that everyone was still alive.

Finally they calmed down and went to their area, ready to start their quals.

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Once the two Marines were finished they decided to check up on Harm and find out what was going on. They made their way towards where the cheering had come from only to be stopped by 3 very large and muscle-bound guys in black.

"This is as far as you go, General, LtCol." stated the middle one, crossing his arms over his massive chest and smirking smugly at the two. "This is a restricted area and you have no clearance to enter it."

Cresswell took a good look at them, wanting to know about the opposition. They had no service marking, he didn't know whether they were Navy, Corps, Army or Air Force, they had no rank insignias, no unit patches, nor any name tags, nothing. Just black BDUs, that could be any branch and that usually mean Special Operations and Black Ops. Hell, they didn't even have to be from the military as the military wasn't the only one to use Quantico, they could've been ATF, FBI, NSA, CIA, ONI or even any of the numerous mercenaries, employed by the security companies on contract with the government. If they were civilians, then his rank would mean crap in terms of leverage towards them. And if they were Spec Ops then they had clearance to deal with intruders and threats in any way they deemed necessary, confirmed by the fact that they were all fitted out in battle gear.

There was no sense in trying to stir up trouble, cause not even his rank and position would help him enter an area with high clearance, so he nodded and turned, leaving, Mac trailing after him.

Mac and Cresswell saw Harm again, briefly, when they went to return their rifles to the Armory. They were perplexed to see him hanging out with several men, who were wearing black uniforms identical to Harm's.

As those three guards, neither of the men had any insignias, nor unit patches, nor anything of the kind. Not even rank insignias, though it was obvious they weren't ordinary Seamen (if they even were Navy).

They resolved to wait for Harm to finish, no matter how long it took. They were both slowly realizing that there was much more to the man that they had known and were resolved to get to the bottom of it.

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They'd been hanging around the armory for a few hours by then when they noticed Harm returning with, of all things, what looked like a sniper rifle on his shoulder. Cresswell frowned at this new piece of the puzzle, while Mac just stared, wondering had she ever really known the man and his true depths.

A few minutes later he showed up again, this time heading to the rifle range with what an US Army Lieutenant identified for them as Heckler & Koch G36 (AN: all weapons can be seen on wikipedia).

About an hour later Harm returned again and this time they followed him inside.

They had decided to wait for their results until Harm was finished. They just couldn't wait to find out how it went. Or to get an explanation to what the hell was Harm doing and what was going on.

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"So, ready for the results, sirs, ma'am?" asked the Gunny. At their affirmative replies he began.

"Rifle Range: Cresswell 35, MacKenzie 35, Rabb 40." That raised the eyebrows of both Marines and they stared at Harm incredulously.

(AN: for rifle quals there are 40 targets, that pop up, and 40 bullets - 2 clips with 20 bullets each person. Realistically speaking, with Mac having been only a lawyer and admin in her careers, because of her busy admin careers and unlike Harm with no hint of any special training having no chance of using such weapons frequently or to even practice frequently, the scores couldn't be higher. Cresswell had been wounded in combat to the point that he could no longer serve in combat and thus did not have so much opportunity to practice marksmanship anymore after having become a lawyer and especially got his own office to run, it taking all of his time. Marksmanship is one of those things that require you to constantly practice to keep your accuracy, speaking from personal experience.)

"Since you were also doing other quals not just the sniper range, CDR, I'll also be the one to give you the results, otherwise one of the instructors would've done it. Sniper range: Rabb 1."

The two Marines were now even more stunned at the confirmation that Harm was a sniper, but snickered at the low score. The Gunny glared at them. "There is only one target to hit for sniper qualifications and that at 1000 yards." That shut them up.

"CDR, you correctly guessed the distance, the direction and strength of the wind and correctly compensated for the bullet drop, gravity and rotation of Earth, placing the shot perfectly. You also passed your low-light-level-shooting test last night. Further, you passed the camouflage test, good work on that ghilie suit by the way, and you passed all the endurance tests. To recap it, you passed your sniper qualifications again. Good job."

(AN: snipers make their own camouflage suits - the ones that look like a walking unmowed lawn, called ghilie suits after Scottish game wardens who invented them, by themselves. Each suit is unique and personalized to their creator's/user's needs and wishes.)

"Moving on. Pistol range: Cresswell 9/10, MacKenzie 9/10. Rabb 10/10. Btw, the range overseer is asking you to use a regular Berretta next time, your Heckler & Koch MK23 Mod 0 SOCOM ripped the target to shreds."

"Congratulations, you've all passed your qualifications."

With that he stood, waited for Harm to join him and they walked off, talking lively, leaving the other two still stunned from the events that had just transpired.

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10 minutes later they were standing in the parking lot when they finally saw Harm saying goodbye to his friend.

"Give Jeannie and the kids my love and tell her I'll be there!" he yelled and turned around, walking towards them with a big smile on his face.

'It's amazing how much younger being happy makes him. I haven't seen him happy in so long.' mused Mac.

He waved at them and, to Cresswell's annoyance, he got into his car and drove away.

"Damn." the General cursed. "He's gonna spill the beans if I have to order him to."

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TBC...

PS: I made Psycho up after a real-life Marine sniper who was interviewed by a war reporter in Iraq just a few hours after end of the first Gulf War because the reporter saw him crying during the end-of-war celebrations in a base camp. Turned out that the guy was crying because he hadn't killed anyone. Apparently everytime he heard shots being fired he always got there too late... Makes a person wonder (and shudder) how many of that kind of people the military is nurturing, encouraging, training and protecting; and what will happen once they are discharged and returned back into the civilization.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you all who reviewed and especially those who alerted me that Cresswell really was a combat Marine. Upon getting confirmation that he did serve in combat I fixed the previous part accordingly.

After careful consideration I've fixed part 2 also, giving Harm an M40, instead of M25 or M24. The reason can be found in his explanation to Cresswell in this chapter.

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**syrose:** I agree, Mac did know he could handle fire-arms, however the thing that stunned her wasn't so much that he could handle them, but that he was having to re-qualify for them (Navy officers, those who are assigned service weapons, have to qualify for those weapons only, which means sidearms, not rifles) and, more importantly, that he was carrying a sniper rifle around and from everything she could see, knew how to use it and was re-qualifying for that too. Then there comes the company he was keeping, the style of his BDUs,...

As for Mac's career... I remember that it was specifically said that she was an admin officer before becoming a JAG. The only US forces until December 1995 in Bosnia were USAF and US Army personnel providing humanitarian aid and airlifting supplies, not a single Marine was there until Task Force Eagle. First US ground forces, Task Force Eagle, which also means first USMC forces, entered Bosnia over Sava river on 31st December 1995.

(source: http//www. army. mil /CMH/brochures/Bosnia-Herzegovina/Bosnia-Herzegovina. htm

(source: http:// www. au. af. mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl30172. htm)

By then Mac was already at JAG...

Which means TPTB screwed up again, completely messing up facts. Just one instance among many. Wonder if they even really had ANY consultants at all or just lied that they had. Another example of the show being out of synch with reality.

If you get the chance, get BBC's documentary TV drama "Warriors" from 1999. It shows a pretty realistic picture on how it was there. They weren't even allowed to evacuate people they KNEW were going to be killed within minutes, because they would be "aiding in ethnic cleansing" and UNPROFOR Command didn't want that even if it mean innocent civilians would be slaughtered. UN forces even stood by as Croats had Bosnian civilians in a factory, torturing them, raping the women and killing every last one of those poor people (the Peacekeepers heard everything and knew what was going on) and still did nothing. Because their orders were not to interfere.

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**canuck:** thanks, will do!

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**michelle uk:** thank you, hope you like the update!

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The next day Harm was diligently working in his office, preparing for his next case, when there was a knock on his door. At his "Enter!" command the door cracked open and Jen appeared.

"CDR, the General wants you to report to him right away." reported she.

Harm grimaced and looked around cautiously. "How's he?"

"He didn't look angry, but I can't read him that good yet." whispered Jen.

"Is Mac there too?"

"No, sir."

Okay, that spelled trouble. Had Mac been in there it would've probably been about another case. Since she wasn't there it was something that concerned only Harm.

"Thanks, Jen." he smiled at her and she smiled back, leaving his office to get back to her post.

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"CDR Rabb reporting as ordered, sir!"

Cresswell just looked at him silently for a few seconds, before ordering curtly. "At ease, take a seat."

Harm sat down.

"You know why you're here, CDR?"

"No, sir." Harm looked at him carefully. It was starting to sound like he would get a tongue lashing, but he hadn't done anything recently that would deserve this kind of special attention.

"Not even an idea?"

"No, sir."

"Okaaaay." the other man leaned forward and supported his elbows on the desk. "Mind telling me what was that all about yesterday, CDR?"

Harm gave him a puzzled look. "I had my weapons re-qualifications, sir."

"Exactly. What I'd like to know is why a lawyer, who is also a pilot, felt the need to also become a sniper on top of it all and in what way are you involved with SOCOM (Special Operations COMmand)."

Harm grew wary. "Respectfully, what does it say in my dust jacket, sir?"

"Nothing, most of it is blacked out. I don't have a high enough clearance."

"Then, sir, I can't tell you." Harm replied.

The General was getting irritated. "I'm not asking that you tell me about your service or the missions you did with your qualifications, I just want to know how they affect your work here at JAG. And if it isn't classified I am curious as to how you came to have such skills, what made you participate and complete all these trainings."

Harm thought it through, then decided to give the man a part of the truth, but not giving away anything classified. "I first got involved with the Special Operations community through Colonel Stryker. As you probably know, once you're in that community you never get out again, they don't let you. The only way out is in a box or a body bag. While I was a pilot I was occasionally selected to provide services for them if I was stationed in that area, since if they used me, they didn't have to rely on other pilots who were unknown qualifiers to them and could present a security risk. After my ramp strike they left me alone for a while, since I was in no shape to help them, not even being capable of walking due to my injuries. Once I completed my rehabilitation, got back on my feet and was cleared by a Navy surgeon for active duty things changed. I could no longer fly, but I still had skills taught to me by Stryker. Over the years with JAG I was then ordered many times to train with SEALs to gain and hone already-owned skills that I would need for particular JAGman missions. Later, when (ret.) RADM Chegwidden took over he ordered me several times on missions with SEALs as an equal and fully functional part of a SEAL team. I'm only telling you this because you have access to the reports for these cases, seeing as they were JAGman investigations. Through the years I'd gotten so much training that I decided that I should just as well get the rest and be an official SEAL. I was already almost as trained as any active SEAL, so why not make it official? Besides, all that training would surely come in handy or even save my life later on." then he unbuttoned his dress blues jacket and showed the inside of it where a trident, a sniper's badge and additional ribbons, called the 'fruit salad', were pinned.

"This is how I got the trident. As for being a sniper... after I was 'persuaded' to act as his spotter by GSgt. Crockett, a Marine sniper, 9 years ago and then helped persuade his CO to drop the charges for attempted murder and brig break, he'd badgered me to let him train me into a sniper before he retired. Supposedly I had talent, good eyes, calm hand, great instinct and made a good spotter. I was an accomplished marksman already and have also had some experience with sniper rifles. Not a lot, but enough to give me an idea of what it's like. Anyway, Crockett felt that I would make a good sniper and wanted me to let him train me. Eventually I gave in to his badgering, after he'd been nagging me for hours, expounding on it's virtues and advantages and continually refilling my glass, and so I became a sniper. That's how I got this badge." he gestured to the sniper badge.

"As you know, General, Marines use the M40 Sniper Weapon System, while Navy snipers use the M25. Since the Gunny was a Marine he trained me for the M40, which is basically the same as the M24 that the Army uses, just with a smaller receiver, thus smaller calibre. When I got my qualifications and the badge I also got issued with my personal weapon, an M40, and kept it when I became a SEAL, which still earns me weird looks. SEAL snipers use the M25 and I'm the only one with an M40. I was offered an M25, but was already issued with the M40 and was already used to it, knew it in and out, how it responds (no two rifles are the same), so I declined and kept the M40. Which all comes down to the fact that I have to regularly re-qualify."

"And you have to go on missions." finished Gordon for him, seeing the light. "And the investigations you've been assigned to without a partner were a fake, to cover those times when you were on a mission. From the LtCol's reaction yesterday I gather that she doesn't know about this..."

"No, sir, she doesn't."

"If I may ask, why not?" asked Cresswell curiously.

"One of the reasons is that she doesn't have the clearance. Sir, as important as it is, JAG isn't my entire life. Yes, we who work here are friends, but everyone still is careful to keep at least some part of their private lives private. I'm sure there are still some things I don't know about either of the LTs Roberts or CDR Turner or even LtCol MacKenzie. No-one likes to be an open book, but especially they don't want everyone else to know every aspect of their lives, nor their secrets. Except for you and Admiral Chegwidden no-one at JAG knows about this. Not only is it my private life, but it's also pretty much completely classified. Except for you I am the only one here who's clearance is even close to being high enough to be allowed to know anything. It's a sacrifice that everyone in Spec Ops must come to terms with, namely our families and friends not knowing what we do. No-one knows about this and this is the way it has to stay. It's for their safety as well as my own."

"I understand, CDR." nodded the JAG. "Rest assured this won't go any further."

"Thank you, sir. If that is all, I have court in an hour and would like to prepare."

Cresswell nodded. "That'll be all, dismissed."

Harm stood at attention and left the office, leaving the older man staring after him deep in thought.

What was an extraordinary man like Rabb doing wasting his time and efforts at JAG?

It's right what they say, you never completely know a person and Gordon had the feeling that Harmon Rabb, Jr. would stay a mystery to him for as long as he lived.

THE END

PS: so we came to the end of this little ditty, thanks for all who reviewed and who alerted me to the errors I made.


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